


Haereditas

by Jade_Valentine



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bahamut (Final Fantasy XV) Being a Jerk, Cuddling & Snuggling, Eos Worldbuilding Lore, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), May or may not be a one-shot who knows, No one is happy with how Chapter 13 played out in the game, Particularly that ONE SCENE - you know the one!, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Protective Chocobros (Final Fantasy XV), The Author Regrets Nothing, The Crystal Lore, so lets fix that while we're at it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25227625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Valentine/pseuds/Jade_Valentine
Summary: Haereditas - Latin feminine noun - inheritance, possession, hereditary successionBahamut’s solution was the Crystal.The Crystal was a distillation of all of the Astrals’ powers. Whoever found the Crystal could use it to banish the growing darkness from Eos. Once and for all.There was, of course, a cost.Or, what if the end of Chapter 13 played out a little differently and was inspired by an iconic scene from Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)?
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia & Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 25
Kudos: 34





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the word baby that was born one evening while rewatching one of my favorite movies, Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Upon rewatching an ICONIC SCENE (for probably the thousandth time in my life) I was struck with a "WHAT IF!?" train of thought that led to this prologue and the next chapter. 
> 
> I know there are a few Atlantis fans among the FFXV fans I converse with, so I hope you enjoy this hot take. :)
> 
> Thanks as always, to the lovely KikiStorm, for fanning the flames of this AU and for being a wonderfully stellar beta. <3 I love you so much and want to make all the word babies with you!

_ Long ago, the Six Astrals created Eos.  _

_ Titan shaped the land with his bare hands. He carved deep gorges with his thumbs and pushed up steep mountains as easily as if they were made out of soft clay.  _

_ Leviathan gave the land water. She filled in the valleys Titan had created with the life-sustaining liquid and created rivers and lakes where he had left cracks and holes.  _

_ Ramuh brought light to the land. First, it was a brief bolt, a temporary flash in the sky. Then, he crafted something more permanent, pulling in a nearby star around which Eos would orbit. The sun.  _

_ Bahamut gave the land inhabitants. He crafted humans out of flesh and blood filled with iron.  _

_ Shiva and Ifrit, the lovers, were the last to bestow their gift to Eos. They gave the humans warmth, with fire and passion, as well as cold, with ice and desolation. Together they created the seasons, alternating patterns of warmth and cold. _

_ With the guidance of the Six Astrals, Eos became a bright star.  _

_ And, like all sources of light, it cast a long shadow.  _

_ Darkness sought to dispel the light, and the people of Eos started to wither and perish in droves. The Astrals, who spent so long crafting their perfect star, wanted to intervene, but Bahamut, their leader, gave them pause. He wanted to assist the people but did not want them to become solely reliant upon their aide. Like a father, he wanted his children to become self-sufficient.  _

_ Bahamut’s solution was the Crystal.  _

_ The Crystal was a distillation of all of the Astrals’ powers.Whoever found the Crystal could use it to banish the growing darkness from Eos. Once and for all.  _

_ There was, of course, a cost.  _

_ Bahamut, unbeknownst to his fellow Astrals, placed a curse on the Crystal before depositing it in the budding kingdom of Lucis. Should danger ever befall the Crystal, it would call upon a member of the Finder’s bloodline to protect it. The mechaniations of how this would happen, however, would remain a mystery.  _

_ The Crystal, of course, could do more than banish the darkness from Eos. The Crystal granted power. With power comes envy. With envy comes war.  _

_ The people of Eos divided. They fought against the Finder’s bloodline, all in an attempt to possess the Crystal. The Finders, unwilling to give up their power, did what they could to protect themselves and the Crystal - they built towers and walls.  _

_ The Finders and their progeny succeeded in protecting themselves and the Crystal for over two-thousand years.  _

_ Then Insomnia fell.  _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, here is the "meat" to go along with the prologue that was posted yesterday.
> 
> A big thank you, as always, to KikiStorm, who is my best friend, beta, and confidant for all things related to my writing. I love you so much! 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this lovely self-indulgent piece! I had a blast writing it (and playing the Atlantis soundtrack on loop).

Prompto’s soft, breathy sobs echoed around the small bunker. Ignis shifted again on the bunk across the room while Noct squeezed his arms more tightly around Prompto’s stomach, pressing a kiss to the back of his head, as they lay spooned together on a narrow bunk. 

“Shhh, it’s okay,” Noct whispered as Prom’s breath hitched. “I got you.”

Prom let out another sob, and Noctis heard Gladio stir near the door, the clank of his broadsword indicating he shifted positions. 

Noctis placed a kiss on Prompto’s left ear, wincing against the continued pressure of laying on his right side. “Shhh.”

“N-Noct,” Prom choked, his hands scrabbling around his chest to find Noct’s.

“I’m here.”

Prom let out another shaky breath, then another. Then finally, he quieted. Noct let out a small sigh and slightly loosened his grip, shifting minutely to relieve the pressure on his right hip. Prompto’s breathing deepened, and Noct felt his body sag even further into the dilapidated mattress. 

It had only been a few hours since Noctis and Gladio had found him and pulled him off of the metal contraption. Astrals knew how long he had been hanging there. Probably a few days, at least, if the raw skin around his wrists were any indication. Noct closed his hands gently around Prom’s bandaged wrists at the thought. They did not have much to spare in the curatives department, but Ignis made an exception with no argument. The potion they spared was enough to close the wounds, at least. Scraps of fabric they found in a drawer would hopefully keep the infection at bay. 

Noct heaved a sigh and buried his face between Prom’s shoulder blades, the leather of his vest warm on his face. They still had to get out of here, somehow, but they could figure that out after a few hours of sleep. 

\---

“Noct. Wake up. It’s your turn to guard.”

Noct groaned, his eyes peeling open to an expanse of dark fabric and low fluorescent lighting. 

“Noct.” Gladio’s voice was low and somewhere over his left shoulder. A large hand gave him a gentle shake. “Wake up.”

“I’m up,” Noct whispered. Promto was still wrapped in his arms, seemingly fast asleep. Extracting himself was going to be difficult. Noct cast a glance over his shoulder at Gladio who just shrugged. 

“You know I’d gladly let you sleep…” Gladio let the sentence trail off. Noct understood. Gladio had been pressing through Zegnautus Keep for as long as Noctis had. If anything, it was worse on him, having to watch over Ignis as well as himself. Exhaustion was an understatement. 

Noct began the slow process of wiggling his right arm out from under Prom’s torso. It was tingling and asleep, which made it difficult to judge just how much he was moving. Unsurprisingly, Prom began to stir. 

“Noooct,” he whined. 

Noct winced as he finally freed his arm, massaging it with his left hand. “It’s okay buddy,” he whispered. “I’m still here.”

Gladio patted Noct on the shoulder, then headed over to one of the other empty bunks in the room. Noct, right arm now heading towards functional, swung his legs over the bed and was about to stand up when he felt Prompto shift, turning over. Freckled arms started to snake around his waist when he heard Ignis shift in the bunk across from him. 

“I’ll take your place,” he said softly, sitting up. 

“Thanks,” Noct said, pulling Prompto’s arms away from him. “Specs will stay with you, okay, Prom?”

“I-Iggy?” Prompto’s voice cracked.

“I’m here, darling. Please let Noctis go. It’s his time to guard and keep us safe.”

“From the MTs?”

“Yes, from the MTs.” As Noctis stood, Ignis crossed the small space between the bunks and, with a hand outstretched, found the edge of the bed. He sat, immediately smoothing over the bare mattress, searching for Prom’s hands. When he found them, he started to lower himself to the mattress, pulling his legs up. “Would you like me to hold you?”

“Uh-huh,” Prom nodded, immediately cuddling into Ignis’s chest. 

Ignis wrapped his arms around him and placed a quiet kiss on his forehead. Noct felt his chest tighten. How many nights had Ignis held Noct the exact same way over the years? Of course, none of those times had been after Noct had been pushed off a train by his best friend and then tortured by a psychotic hobo with a god complex. 

Noct took up his post near the narrow door, Gladio’s soft snores soon filling the room. With the flick of his wrist, he summoned his engine blade. Then he began to pace. 

They had to get out of here. They had to get out of here. They had to get out of here. 

They could not hole up forever while Ardyn reanimated a legion of MTs to box them in and overwhelm them. He had, however, been quiet since they rescued Prompto. 

_It’s a trap and you know it._ The voice in his head, that sounded a lot like Ignis’s, was most certainly correct. _Evaluate the angle of your enemy. Prompto was the bait. Why did he draw you here?_

_The Crystal._

The thought hit him like an ice flask tossed on a lake, swiftly and with a chill that made the hairs on his arms stand up. It was no secret at this point that it was here; Noct could feel its presence on the fringes of his mind, its magic a comforting touch on his conscience. It’s what powered everything he knew: the armiger, their magic, his connection to the past kings. He always felt it there, but it had been faint since Insomnia fell. Now, within its proximity and in possession of the Ring of the Lucii, its presence seemed louder, almost deafening at times. Noctis had ignored it in favor of finding Prompto, but now that he was safe, the presence was all consuming. As he paced back and forth, a singular thought kept droning in his head: _Find the Crystal, find the Crystal, find the Crystal._ It overrode the previous thought of escaping the Keep and now became Noct’s sole objective. 

_It’s part of the trap_ , the Ignis in his head said. Noct snorted, casting a glance at the bunk where Ignis lay, his breathing deep, with a sleeping Prompto sprawled across him. 

“I know,” Noct whispered, “I know. We just gotta outsmart him.”

As Noct stood guard, he paced and thought, paced and thought, his left hand raking through his dirty hair as he rotated his sword with his right wrist. 

There had to be a way.

\---

“We’ll head straight to the Crystal. It’s where he ultimately wants me to go, I think, but he won’t be expecting us to be together.”

“What makes you say that?” Ignis was skeptical, but not unkind. He was Noct’s chief strategist afterall. 

“Think about it,” Noct said. “The whole time since we left Cartanica he’s been trying to split us up. First with Prom, and then with the three of us here.” From where he sat on the bunk across from Ignis and Prompto, elbows on knees, he spread his hands to emphasize. He winced, realizing too late the effect was lost on Ignis. “We’re weaker apart... or so he thinks.”

The corners of Ignis’s mouth twitched upwards. “It seems you did pay attention to my strategy lessons afterall.”

Noct huffed as Gladio continued to pace back and forth in the narrow aisle between the foot of the bunks and the wall.

“Seems dangerous,” he grumbled. 

Noct rolled his eyes. “Obviously. Anything we do will be. But if we can catch Ardyn off guard and somehow get ahold of the Crystal, then I see that as a win-win.”

Gladio shot Noct a glance, before pivoting and rolling his shoulders. “Fair enough.”

“Thoughts?” Noct asked, his voice tight. He clasped his hands together between his knees, his eyes roving over his friends. 

Gladio had stopped pacing, arms crossed over his chest, head bowed as he thought. Ignis had his hands clasped between his knees, similar to Noct, his gaze pointed downward and un-seeing. And Prompto...well, Prompto was a fidgeting mess. He was on the bunk across from Noct, next to Ignis, trying to mimic their posture, but his knees kept bouncing, bouncing, bouncing. When that did not seem to relieve his anxiety, he switched to biting the nails of his left hand, his right hand grasping his right knee. 

Noctis slowly pushed off the bed and crouched in front of Prom, his hands coming slowly to Prompto’s knees. With a gentle squeeze, Prompto froze, wide violet eyes finding Noct’s face, his left hand over his mouth. 

“Ya with me buddy?” Noct asked softly.

Prompto stared, his breath hitching before he nodded slowly. “Uh-huh. Ev-ever at y-your side.” 

Noct smiled and gave Prompto’s knees a small squeeze before standing up, his right knee protesting. 

“I believe if we move quickly and as quietly as we can, we should be able to avoid unnecessary encounters,” Ignis said, breaking the silence. 

“I agree,” Gladio added. “Noct can take the lead while I bring up the rear.”

“W-what about me?” Prompto squeaked, still nibbling at his fingers. 

Noct carded his right hand through Prom’s hair gently. It was not as soft as he remembered, parts of it matted together. It also looked more brown than blonde in some parts, mostly due to dirt, but some of it due to blood. Noctis grimaced while Prom leaned into his hand immediately, a whimper escaping his throat. 

“You’ll be in the middle, with Ignis. Is that okay? You can always stay here-”

“No!” Prom snapped. “No…”

“Okay,” Noct said softly, letting his right hand fall to his side. 

Ignis placed his left hand on Prompto’s right shoulder. “I’ll look out for him.”

Noct snorted. “Very funny.”

Ignis smirked and Prompto let out a hollow chuckle. 

“It’s settled then. Should we go? Or do we want more time to get ready?”

“I don’t think we’re going to get any more ready than we are now,” Gladio huffed. 

“Whatever Your Majesty thinks is best,” Ignis added. 

Noct ground his teeth together. _Your Majesty._ With a shaky breath and far more confidence than he felt he said, “Let’s go.”

\---

If Noctis ever had doubts about Ardyn’s creepy omniscience, they were dispelled the second they stepped outside of the bunker.

_“Ah, the prince and his retinue,”_ Ardyn’s voice crackled over the PA system in the Keep. _“Oh, forgive me. The_ king _and his retinue. Are you well rested for what’s ahead?”_

“Fuck off,” Noct muttered, brandishing his engine blade. Behind him in the dark hall, he heard Gladio snort. 

_“Tsk tsk, Your Majesty. What would your father think if he heard you use such language?”_

Noct stalked forward slowly, glancing down halls and narrow recesses. He refused to dignify Ardyn’s baiting with a response. Evidently it worked, and the PA system was eerily silent as they made their way forward. 

It took time and patience to pick their way through the Keep, the latter of which Noctis was running out of. They avoided open areas, keeping to the narrow corridors which were creepier and slower but far safer in case of an ambush. They avoided unwanted encounters for the most part, only running into a few MTs on their way to an isolated elevator shaft in a part of the building where none of them had been. Ardyn was quiet the entire time, which did nothing to qualm their building nerves. When they reached the elevator shaft, however, he broke his vow of silence. 

_“I am impressed, Your Majesty. You have avoided all of my traps and tricks. For now…”_

Noctis jammed the pommel of his engine blade into the elevator up-button, while Gladio, Ignis, and Prom stepped forward. There was a soft ding, and then the doors slid open and they squeezed inside. There was only one place to go, and the elevator car started to ascend after the doors closed behind them. They were silent as the car whizzed upward.

_“Come now, Noctis,”_ Ardyn’s velvety voice cooed. _“Are you finally ready to inherit your birthright? I shall warn you, if you wish to inherit the Crystal’s power, I hope you are prepared to lose all else.”_

Noctis felt Ignis and Prompto shift to either side of him and felt Gladio’s left hand squeeze one of his shoulders. 

“We shall not leave you,” Ignis stated, simply.

“No matter what,” Gladio continued. 

To Noct’s left, Prompto switched his pistol from his right to his left hand. Seconds later, he felt Prom’s fingers thread around his left hand. “He’ll pay. For everything.” His voice was quiet and cold, every ounce of it carrying the very real threat that he could and would kick Ardyn’s ass. 

Noct smiled and closed his left hand around Prompto’s right. “Thanks, buddy.”

Prompto cast him a sideways glance and then gave him a quick nod. 

The doors slid open, opening on a domed concrete passageway with metal grate flooring. Noctis immediately felt the pull of the Crystal intensify, like a brief, searing pain across the back of his head. It was close. He stepped forward, with Prompto and Ignis falling in behind him and Gladio bringing up the rear as they made their way down the passage. It seemed to stretch forever, the end obscured in hazy fluorescent light. 

When they finally reached what they thought was the end, the concrete passageway opened up into a larger cylindrical passage made of dark metal. The metal grate flooring turned into a catwalk, complete with a waist high railing, that extended over the water-filled chasm below. The catwalk stretched about fifty meters, connecting to a hemi-spherical platform at the end. Beyond that platform was their goal. 

Suspended by chains above the water beyond the hemi-spherical platform hung the Crystal, radiating an ethereal blue and purple light in the dark chamber. Noctis was not sure what the Niflheim Empire had done to it since it had been in their possession, but seeing it crudely chained made him instantaneously angry. It was something that Lucis had revered, keeping it locked in a vault for its protection. He remembered only catching guarded glances of it through the cracks in the chamber that surrounded it when he was younger. It should not be treated like a common rock, hung up for examination. 

Noctis stepped out of the concrete passageway and increased his pace, his eyes focused solely on the Crystal. He did not even notice a figure moving to the left on the hemi-spherical platform.

“Ah, Noctis. It seems your journey is over.” Ardyn’s voice was even more grating echoing around the chamber than it was over the PA system. He strode into the middle of the platform between Noctis and the Crystal, the usual smug look plastered on his face. “Are you ready to finally claim your right? Only then would it be worth fighting me.” 

Noctis stopped roughly thirty feet from Ardyn. _Enough distance for me to launch a flask at him,_ Noctis thought as he took a defensive stance and raised his engine blade. 

“I don’t need the Crystal to defeat you,” he growled. As if on cue, he heard Prompto’s gun click and enter his peripheral vision to his left, while the bulk of Gladio’s broadsword flanked him on his right. He felt one of Ignis’s hands in the small of his back and then the slight pull in the back of his mind as he pulled a dagger from the armiger. 

Ardyn laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, is that so? Are your friends your power?” He laughed again, relishing the absurdity of the thought. “No, my dear boy, this has to be settled the old way. Just you, I, and that which makes us gods.”

Noctis rolled his eyes. “Unlike you, I don’t have a god complex. So stop stalling.” Noctis clenched his right hand. He knew he had a few types of magic flasks in store, and was currently debating which would be the most effective, when Ardyn lifted a hand with a flourish, cocking his head to one side before speaking. 

“You do not seem to know our family history that well, _boy_. It was not our choice but the gods sent us a gift, this Crystal. We were supposed to use it to banish the darkness from Eos, but all it's done is attract more darkness than before. It’s a trap created by none other than Bahamut. Once I’m done killing you and your friends, I’m going to destroy it, to send a message to the Astrals and to free our family from its grasp, once and for all.” 

“You can destroy the Crystal now, if you want. May make our fight more interesting.” Destroying the Crystal would mean giving up the armiger, the magic, and the spectral weapons Noctis had collected across Eos. Without them, he would just be a guy with a sword. Noct was seriously hoping that Ardyn would not call his bluff. Noctis caught Gladio giving him a glance out of his right periphery and he felt Ignis curl his hands into his jacket, obviously seeing through his bluff. 

Ardyn smirked. “Be careful what you wish for, young king.” With a wave of his raised hand, a black miasma emanated from Ardyn’s body. It swirled around him once before swiftly racing towards the Crystal, swarming over the chains that held it aloft over the water. They began to creak and rattle as the miasma washed over them, some of them starting to glow. 

Noctis’s eyes went wide but he knew his window of opportunity to attack was closing. With one fluid movement, he pulled out an ice magic flask from the armiger with his left hand, deciding at the last minute that it may be the most effective, especially if it slowed Ardyn down. Just as Noct cocked his arm back to toss the flask, one of the many chains supporting the crystal snapped, broken links of metal plopping into the water and scattering across the platform below. 

The Crystal screamed. 

More accurately, the Crystal sent out a silent shockwave which effectively knocked Ardyn on his back and had Gladio stepping in front of Noctis and Prompto, pulling them and Ignis down to the catwalk to avoid being buffeted over the guard rail. But in Noct’s head, it came across as an ear splitting scream. 

As Gladio pulled him down, shielding him from the shockwave, Noctis clasped both of his hands over his ears, attempting to block out the hellish road. The engine blade returned to the armiger automatically. The flask, however, did not. It hit the catwalk and rolled, the drop not enough to break it. Once it rolled under the guard rail and hit the surface of the water, though, it broke. The water in the chamber immediately froze, turning into a sheet of ice and expanding, the temperature in the chamber plummeting. 

As Noctis crouched with his retinue, agonizing against the sound he thought all could hear, he felt a pulse around the middle finger of his right hand. Sucking in an icy breath, he cracked open his right eye, pulling his hand away from his ear briefly. The Ring of the Lucii was emitting a pale pink glow. And the screaming had stopped. Noct removed his hands from his ears and looked down the chamber toward the platform and the Crystal. 

The effect was instantaneous, like a trigger pulling to release a bullet down a barrel. Noctis felt a pull in his chest and an odd sensation ripple over the back of his head. He was standing, slowly, against his will, and stepping around a still crouched Gladio, as though time had frozen. He had a quick thought that this was strange, and then his eyes focused on the Crystal. He saw nothing else.

“Noct...where are you going?” Prompto whispered. He heard Noct shifting and immediately opened his eyes, watching as his friend slowly stood up and made his way past a semiconscious Gladio who was still hunkered against the catwalk, having taken the brunt of the blast. Noct was walking slowly down the catwalk with an oddly straight gait. 

“Noct,” Prompto said again, louder. 

“What is happening?” Ignis asked, his hands reaching towards Prompto. 

“Noct is just walking towards the Crystal,” Prompto answered quietly, scrambling to his feet. “And Ardyn,” he added as he helped Iggy up. “Come on, big guy,” he said as he pulled uselessly at Gladio’s upper arm. He grunted, so that was a good sign. Prompto glanced down the catwalk again where Noctis was still slowly making his way down the catwalk. Gladio braced himself against the guard rail and started to stand, and Prompto helped him up the rest of the way. 

At this point, Noctis had made his way to the platform beneath the Crystal and stopped, staring up at the suspended mass. 

“Hey, dude, stop!” Prompto called, jogging down the catwalk with Gladio and Ignis in tow. He spared a glance at Ardyn, who still looked knocked out, flat on his back, as he reached Noctis. 

“You’re scaring me,” he murmured as he reached for the bracer on Noct’s left forearm. The second his fingertips grazed against the worn leather, Prompto yanked back his right hand. It felt like getting electrocuted, an experience Prompto had only once in his life, but he remembered the feeling well . 

“Ow, shit!”

“What’s wrong?” Ignis asked, his voice pitching high in worry. 

Whatever response Prompto had died on his lips as Noctis finally turned around to face them. 

Noctis’s usually beautiful slate-grey eyes were a pale glowing pink.

Prompto felt his breath catch sharply in his throat and heard Gladio have a similar response, followed by a murmured, “What the hell?”

Ignis grabbed Prompto’s shoulder roughly. “What is _wrong_ with Noctis?” he hissed. 

Before Prompto could respond (which at this point, with his mouth agape, he doubted he could) Noctis answered in a voice that was not his own. It reverberated around the chamber and sounded like many voices blended together, speaking in unison. 

_“BE NOT AFRAID, MORTALS. THIS IS THE WILL OF THE GODS.”_

Noctis turned back towards the Crystal slowly, gazing up at it as it hung above the ice. 

Prompto took a step forward, only to have his chest collide with Gladio’s outstretched arm. Gladio shook his head slightly as Ignis’s grip tightened on the back of his vest. 

All was silent in the chamber as Noctis stepped toward the very edge of the platform, his eyes trained on the Crystal. Then, he took another step forward off the platform. 

“ _Noct!_ ” Prompto screamed, straining against Gladio while Ignis hissed, _“What the hell is going on!”_

Noctis’s next steps led him onto the ice, which was level with the platform edge. He continued forward, slowly, head tilted upwards as he walked underneath the suspended Crystal, unaware of the ice cracking under his weight. It was not a strong spell, and it would only be a matter of time before it gave out completely. 

Prompto struggled against Gladio, who had caught him around the waist with one arm and was holding him off of the floor. Ignis was in a similar, but more dignified, situation, Gladio opting for a headlock. They continued to struggle, throwing punches and barbs of being a “lousy Shield”, when Noctis finally stood directly under the Crystal. He lifted his arms slowly upward towards the Crystal, beckoning it. 

All the chains snapped.

Prompto saw it all in slow motion. The chains around the Crystal snapping, broken links spraying everywhere. The Crystal, likely thousands of pounds, starting to drop down. And Noctis, his best friend, beneath it, head tilted back, bathed in a strange blue-purple glow. Prompto wanted to scream, but could not get the sound to come out. It was as if time had frozen, his fists curled mid-strike against Gladio’s forearm, his legs stuck mid-kick. 

Then, time resumed its normal flow, and the Crystal crashed into the surface of the ice, directly where Noct stood. The impact was enough to dispel the temporary ice spell, and a tidal wave followed, engulfing the hemi-spherical platform. Gladio dragged Prompto and Ignis down once more, pressing them against the platform with his arms as the wave crashed over them. Any weariness they had was immediately washed away by the near-freezing cold water. Once Prompto was certain that the wave had passed, he opened his eyes and looked towards the end of the platform, pushing his soaked hair out of his eyes. 

Noct was still there, somehow, floating above the water, his pale skin iridescent, like a lightning storm was moving underneath it. His eyes were closed, his arms at his side with his palms facing forward. Prompto pushed against the catwalk, scrambling to get out from under Gladio’s arm, when he felt a sharp tug at the collar of his vet. 

“Stay down,” Gladio growled quietly. 

“B-but Noct,” Prompto whispered. 

Gladio glanced quickly at Noct. “We don’t know if that _is_ Noct,” he whispered. 

Prompto gave him an incredulous look and was about to comment that Gladio must have gotten hit in the head one too many times when training, when Ignis screamed. 

“ _Noct!_ ”

Noctis’s eyes snapped open, the same glowing pink as they were before the Crystal fell. He looked towards them, but Prompto was convinced he could not see them. Noct slowly alighted on the edge of the platform, but his attention was drawn to the left, where Ardyn was sputtering and attempting to stand. 

“Oh no,” Prompto breathed. 

“Quite a good trick, _Your Majesty,_ ” Ardyn spat, shakily standing. Once he straightened, he finally looked at Noctis from under the brim of his terrible hat. 

“N-no...it...cannot be…” he whispered

“ _CURSED IMMORTAL, YOU HAVE BROUGHT DARKNESS TO OUR STAR. WHY DID YOU THWART THE WILL OF THE GODS?”_ Noctis spoke again in the multitudinous voice that filled the space of the chamber, giving Prompto chills. 

Ardyn held up his hands placatingly. “I know not what you mean,” he started. As Noctis took a menacing step towards the taller man, Ardyn stumbled, dropping to his knees. 

“ _I WILL NOT ASK AGAIN,”_ the voice coming out of Noctis said.

“H-have mercy,” Ardyn pleaded as Noctis stepped forward, towering over him. “It was Somnus, not I. He, he used the Crystal to banish the darkness, as prescribed by the Atrals, but failed to rid Eos of the scourge. And I...I tried to do that but-”

“ _ENOUGH,”_ the voice commanded with a quick wave of Noctis’s right hand. “ _YOUR BROTHER’S WILL AND THAT OF THE GODS WAS SYNONYMOUS. DEFYING ONE DEFIED BOTH. YOU ARE SCOURGE INCARNATE AND HAVE FOR TOO LONG INFECTED THIS STAR. YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR SINS.”_

“N-no, please!” Ardyn begged. “I meant no harm!”

Noctis scoffed. “ _HARM? YOU HAVE PLAGUED THE LUCIS CAELUM LINE AND EOS FOR TWO MILLENIA. THE HARM YOU HAVE EXACTED IS IMMEASURABLE. NOW SLEEP, ADAGIUM.”_ Noctis stepped forward and with one fluid movement placed his right hand over Ardyn’s eyes. 

Ardyn stiffened and then struggled, his hands immediately clasping around Noctis’s wrist. Noctis scowled, his eyes narrowing, and then the Ring of the Lucii flashed, briefly illuminating both men in a pink glow. 

Ardyn was no more. 

Gone was the fedora and the long coat. Gone was the smirking face with a grating voice of velvet. All in a flash of pink light.

Noctis, the sole figure left on the platform, straightened and slowly turned towards the catwalk, pink eyes roving over his friends. 

Prompto and Gladio had watched the exchange between Noctis and Ardyn speechlessly from the safety of laying on the catwalk. After Noctis, or whatever possessed him, had effortlessly vaporized Ardyn, they scrambled up, unanimously deciding it was time to make an escape. Ignis seemed to sense something was amiss and was following their lead without question. However, once Noctis turned his gaze in their direction, they froze, and remained still as he approached them slowly. 

He walked straight, unbothered by the old injuries to his knee and back, something Prompto had noted when he was walking towards the Crystal before. Now it was all Prompto focused on as Noctis approached them, stopping about an arm’s length from them. 

He regarded each of them slowly, first Gladio, who stood in front, then Prompto to his right. Finally, he looked at Ignis. 

“ _CHILD OF IFRIT,”_ the voice said as softly as something as booming and powerful could, “ _WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO YOU?”_ Noct slowly stepped forward, extending his right hand to cup the side of Ignis’s face. 

Gladio stepped back, extending an arm in front of Prompto, while Ignis grew still under Noct’s touch. He let out a shaky breath as Noctis plucked his glasses off of his face and covered his eyes with his right hand in one smooth movement. 

Prompto squeaked and pushed against Gladio as the Ring of the Lucii pulsed once more, a pink glow emanating from beneath Noct’s hand. 

_“OPEN YOUR EYES, CHILD.”_

Ignis did, slowly. There were just shapes and shadows, which was what he had grown accustomed to since the events in Altissa. 

Then, he could see. 

The first thing he saw since he had fallen unconscious in Altissia was the last thing he remembered seeing: _Noct._ In perfect clarity without his glasses, no less. Noct looked just like he remembered, though a little worse for wear, with tears in his clothing and dirt on his face, but, _gods_ , he was right in front of him, with his black fluffy hair and beauty mark to the right of his mouth and his eyes. His eyes were _wrong_. Pink and unnerving, not the soft blue-gray Ignis had grown up with. Ignis took an unconscious step back as Noctis held out his glasses in his left hand. 

“Noct.” 

Noct snapped his head to his right, staring directly at Prompto. Prompto flinched under the unsettling gaze, but took a tentative step forward, pushing aside Gladio’s arm. He extended a tentative hand, reaching for Noct’s right forearm. 

Noctis stared at his hand, confused, and then looked back at Prompto’s pleading face. 

“Prom?” It was a whisper, but in his own voice. 

Prom froze, eyes wide, searching Noct’s face. If he would have blinked, he would have missed it. 

Noct’s eyes returned to their normal color for just a moment before rolling back, his eyelids fluttering close. 

Gladio stepped forward quickly, maneuvering past Ignis and Prompto as Noctis collapsed on the catwalk. Gladio caught him before Noct’s knees hit the metal and in one movement, hefted the now unconscious king into his arms. He looked at Noctis warmly, repositioning his weight briefly before looking to Ignis and Prompto, his face drawn tight in worry. 

“So, uh, what do we do now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE 10/16/2020 - This fic inspired [ tumblr user 1000-daemons-in-a-trenchoat](https://1000-daemons-in-a-trenchcoat.tumblr.com/) to make [this beautiful art](https://1000-daemons-in-a-trenchcoat.tumblr.com/post/631379535778217984/haereditas-chapter-1-jadevalentine-final)!!! Thank you again for sharing with me!!! :)


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